


Close To The Fire

by Smokeycut



Category: Excalibur - Fandom, X-Men
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-03
Updated: 2017-07-03
Packaged: 2018-11-22 22:34:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11389791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smokeycut/pseuds/Smokeycut
Summary: What if the X-Men really had died in Dallas? With Kitty coming back to Excalibur after their return from cross time, the adventures of Excalibur take a different direction.Edit: put on indefinite hold





	Close To The Fire

Kitty Pryde was a teenager who had lost more than anyone should, especially not at such a young age. So many friends that, as far as she knew, were dead and gone. Her team was gone, her teachers and her heroes were gone, and all she had left was a lighthouse and four friends, two of whom still felt like strangers some days. Nothing was familiar, nothing was comforting, and nothing on earth could put her broken heart back together. Sure, Excalibur helped at times. There were moments where she forgot about the losses, days where it didn't bother her as much. But then there were nights like this one, when Kurt, Brian and Alistair were out grabbing drinks, and Meggan was playing in the ocean, and Rachel was heaven knows where doing heaven knows what. Nights where she would just stand alone on the balcony of the lighthouse and let her grief make itself known to the world.

Tears welled up in her eyes and Kitty let them flow freely. They dripped onto her cheeks, burning hot against her skin as she sobbed grossly. Her thick, curly brown hair hung over her face, hiding it as she kept her head down and her arms crossed in front of her sweater. She longed to have them back, to be able to laugh with them or to play in the danger room like they used to. To sneak out to the mall with Ororo and Logan, or to sing along to the radio with Bobby and Anna, or just to dance back home with Stevie. Excalibur was wonderful and crazy and stupidly fun, but her heart always yearned to be with the X-Men. It was her home, and that was something this lighthouse could never replace. 

The young mutant pulled her curls away from her face and looked to the sky. She blinked in the starlight as her mind slowed to a halt. She didn't even know what more there was to think about, and so she didn't. She just took in the beauty of the night sky, with all of its twinkling lights. Her gaze drifted downwards, towards the gently rippling water that reflected the sky like a mirror. Her heart ached as she took in the constellations. She knew, deep inside, that there was no going back from all of this. Her old life was gone, dead and buried. She would have to make the best of this one. She would have to learn to move on, no matter how much it hurt.

Kitty was pulled off of her train of thought by the sight of flames dancing across the water. Fire-tipped wings soared through the sky, towards the lighthouse. The Phoenix, Rachel Summers, coming back from her nighttime wandering. Rachel touched down on the balcony, close to Kitty, and she smiled warmly at her best friend. She held her arms behind her back as she stretched, clearly having enjoyed her flight. Kitty wiped the tears from her eyes and pretended that they had never been there to begin with as she turned to face Rachel.

"Hey Kitty. How's it been?" Rachel asked, either not noticing Kitty's reddened eyes or electing not to bring it up, in case the subject was to be avoided. She didn't feel any minds other than their own at the lighthouse, so Kitty had her undivided attention. 

"Same-old same-old," Kitty replied, dodging the question. A million and a half questions raced through her mind in that moment, each one another way to distract herself from these feelings that clung to her so tightly. Did Rachel want to play a game of cards? Or watch Meggan's _Doctor Who_ tapes? Or dig out a board game from the closet? Maybe rifle through the fridge for leftover Chinese, like they did so many nights back at the school? Luckily for her, she was best friends with a mind reader.

"Movie night?" Rachel asked, pulling a pair of rented tapes out from behind her back.

"Yes please!" Kitty breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, grateful to at least have Rachel and Kurt after all that had happened. 

It was halfway through the second movie, a slasher movie that seemed to be mocking itself at every turn, that Kitty found herself truly smiling again. She had her best friend's leg propped up on her lap, a bowl of popcorn floating between them, and a baby dragon resting on her shoulder. She knew that the X-Men were gone, and she knew that it hurt, but she also knew that coming back here was the right thing to do. 

The moment she had learned that Excalibur returned to their universe, Courtney Ross contacted Kitty, and paid for her flight back to England. Chicago was kind to Kitty, but she would take Excalibur over her hometown any day of the week. It was weird and crazy and it hurt some nights, but it was also the one place she knew she belonged. It was the only place she could watch bad horror movies with Rachel. 

The only place where a blonde elf in a green jumpsuit would walk in unannounced, sopping wet and dripping water all over the floor. Meggan, home from her late night swim. She told Rachel and Kitty about the dolphins as she toweled off, giggling between words. The highlight of her night had been dancing with a bottlenose she named Linus. When dry, she joined them on the couch, and when the movie was over, Meggan picked out one of her favorites to watch next.

It was half an hour into that movie that Kurt and Brian came in, supporting a wasted Alistair between them. Alistair mumbled something about another drink, Brian laughed, and Kurt put his cap on Alistair's head. The men stumbled off to put Alistair to bed, then came back, poking each other in the ribs and giggling like children. Each and every member of Excalibur was nestled into the couch that night, enjoying a movie that they'd still be able to quote in a few decades. The jokes they cracked that night, the smiles they shared, they helped Kitty inch a bit closer to finding peace with what she had lost. They helped show her what she had gained.


End file.
